2010 Luke Lambert Syrah Yarra Valley

SKU #1109433
95
points
James Suckling

A wine that balances the new-wave Australian tendency for lots of spiky stemminess on one hand, with graceful fruit and highly complex aromas from ambient yeast, far beyond the madding crowd. A wine of sheer class. 13.5% alcohol, yet powerful with compelling intensity of flavor and length. Will age gracefully to boot although can be approached now.
(10/ 2011)

93
points
Robert Parker's Wine Advocate

Luke Lambert’s 2010 Syrah was fermented using wild yeast with 60% whole bunches included and matured in 27 year old, large format oak barrels before bottling without fining or filtration. It offers a complex nose of ripe black berries, red plums and blueberries over hints of dried Mediterranean herbs, black pepper, black truffles, salami, star anise and damp loam. Medium-bodied and well-poised on the palate, it has a great intensity of vibrant, layered flavors supported by crisp acid and a medium to firm level of finely grained tannins, finishing long. Approachable now, it should have good cellaring potential and drink to 2021+. This is a wonderfully stylish and contemporary cooler-climate Aussie Syrah well worth seeking-out! 576 dozen bottles were produced.
(6/ 2012)

This wine reflects Yarra Valley’s relatively cool climate in its gently herbal and spicy demeanor. Anise and pepper accent the blueberry fruit in this medium-bodied offering that was 60% whole-bunch fermented, all by indigenous yeasts. There’s a bit of creaminess to the texture, but little in the way of overt oak notes, and a long, silky finish. It’s a wine to shatter old stereotypes about Aussie Shiraz.

Wine Spectator

Distinctly herbal, with a thyme and sage cast to the blueberry and white pepper flavors, finishing with refinement. Drink now through 2015. 500 cases made. (Web-2012)

2010 Luke Lambert Syrah Yarra Valley

Wine Scores

Below is a listing of the wine review scores we frequently reference in our notes. While these sources remain an excellent source of information, we always recommend that you trust your own palate. Scores in these publications often represent the personal taste of an individual critic, which may not always coincide with your own. We have a huge team of excellent wine professionals that can match wines you've had in the past with new arrivals that meet your flavor profile.

Additional Information:

Varietal:

Shiraz/Syrah

- One of France's noblest black grape varieties, Syrah is known for its intense and distinctive perfume reminiscent of briar fruit, tar, spice and black pepper and its firm structure. One of few black grape varietals frequently vinified on its own, the best examples of Syrah come from the Northern Rhône, particularly Hermitage, but also Côte-Rôtie, Cornas, Crozes-Hermitage and St-Joseph. These wines are very astringent in their youth, though some Crozes-Hermitage and St-Joseph can be enjoyed young, relatively speaking. Given the requisite patience, though, these wines can reveal amazing complexity and secondary fruit characteristics like plum and blackcurrant as well as subtle hints of smoke and flowers. In the Southern Rhône, Syrah is used to add structure and complexity to wines dominated by Grenache and complemented by Mourvèdre, like the more immediately drinkable Côte du Rhônes, as well as the long-lived wines of Châteauneuf-du-Pape. In recent years, plantings of Syrah have spread throughout the Languedoc-Roussillon where it is produced on its own or blended with other varietals. Outside of France, the most important Syrah growing country is easily Australia, where it is called Shiraz. Quality levels here depend greatly on yields and geography, and the wines range from bold, fruity and easy-drinking to intense and ageable, like the famed Penfolds Grange. Often bottled on its own, in Australia Syrah is also can be blended with Grenache and Mourvèdre, as in the Southern Rhône, and is increasingly combined with Cabernet Sauvignon. Syrah has also been steadily increasing in popularity in California, thanks to a group of advocates called the Rhône Rangers. Its most successful iterations come from the Central and Sonoma Coasts, where winemakers are pushing boundaries and creating some incredible wines. In recent years Syrah has also found a number of proponents in Washington State, which is definitely a region to watch for this variety.

Country:

Australia

- While it is true that the greatest strides in Australian winemaking have come in the last 30 years or so, commercial viticulture began as early as the 1820s and has developed uninterrupted ever since. The majority of the great Region are in the southeastern area of the continent, with the Barossa Valley, Claire Valley, McLaren Vale, and Coonawarra in South Australia, the Yarra Yarra Velley and Pyrenees in Victoria and the Upper and Lower Hunter Valleys in New South Wales. Many of the wines from Southeastern Australia are based on Shiraz or Cabernet Sauvignon and various blends including Grenache and Mourvedre. In Western Australia, along the Margaret River, great strides are being made with Pinot Noir as well as Bordeaux-styled reds. There are also many world-class releases of Chardonnay, Sauvignon Blanc and Riesling from the land Down Under. While many equate Aussie wines with "value", there are more than a few extremely rare and pricey options, which never fail to earn the highest ratings from wine publications and critics throughout the world. Click for a list of bestselling items from Australia.